Game medium processing device and gaming machine

ABSTRACT

A game medium processing device includes a bill processing unit that performs bill processing, a card processing unit that performs a card processing, and a controller. The bill processing unit includes a bill insertion slot through which bill is inserted, and a bill discrimination unit that determines validity of the inserted bill. The card processing unit includes a card ejection slot through which a card-like recording medium is ejected, and a recording medium processing unit that writes and/or reads information related to game value to and/or from the card-like recording medium. The controllercontrolsthebillprocessing unit to stop performing the bill processing while the card processing is performed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a gaming machine that enables playing various games such as slot machine, slingshot, card game and the like, and more particularly to a game medium processing device that discriminates and processes a game medium (bill or card-like recording medium) used for playing a game, and a gaming machine in which such a game medium processing device is incorporated.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the gaming machine as described above, a gaming machine is known in which a game medium processing device that discriminates and processes bill and a card-like recording medium used for playing a game is incorporated. For example, JP-A-2001-178953 discloses a game medium processing device that is arranged next to a gaming machine such as a slot machine, accepts bills, and issues a card-like recording medium (IC card) having game medium information (payout information) written thereon when an adjustment button is pressed at the end of a game.

By providing a unit (card processing unit) that performs processing of a card-like recording medium in addition to a unit (bill processing unit) that performs processing of bill, the time and labor for supplementing paper can be saved, also, a security can be improved, for example, compared with a conventional configuration of outputting payout information on paper. Moreover, convenience for a player to play a game can be improved, such as issuing a card when necessary.

When the bill processing unit and the card processing unit are incorporated into one cabinet in order to improve convenience for the player, as described above, the player may execute an operation to process the two kinds of game medium (a bill and a card-like recording medium) by error or the like. For example, when the player presses the adjustment button so that a card with payout information written thereon will be issued, if the player subsequently inserts bill, whether the bill is inserted with an intention to play a game, whether the bill is inserted with an intention to write game medium information corresponding to a value of the bill onto the issued card, whether the bill is inserted just erroneously, or the like can be considered, and this action cannot be univocally interpreted. On the other hand, if the player presses the adjustment button in the state where the bill is inserted, whether the operation is intended to write game medium information corresponding to the value of the bill, whether the adjustment button is pressed just erroneously, or the like can be considered, and this action cannot be univocally interpreted.

Conventionally, if an action to process one game medium is made while the other game medium is being processed, the action is also accepted. Therefore, a processing that is different from the player's intention may be carried out and the convenience for the player is reduced. Also, if the game media are processed in parallel (simultaneous processing), it is not preferable that the game media may physically interfere with each other and also controls of the processing may interfere with each other and become complicate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a game medium processing device in which both bill and a card-like recording medium can be used and in which the processing of the two kinds of game medium does not interfere with each other, and a gaming machine in which such a game medium processing device is incorporated.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a game medium processing device includes a bill processing unit that performs bill processing, a card processing unit that performs a card processing, and a controller. The bill processing unit includes a bill insertion slot through which bill is inserted, and a bill discrimination unit that determines validity of the inserted bill. The card processing unit includes a card ejection slot through which a card-like recording medium is ejected, and a recording medium processing unit that writes and/or reads information related to game value to and/or from the card-like recording medium. The controller controls the bill processing unit to stop performing the bill processing while the card processing is performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a game medium processing device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a bill insertion slot and a card processing slot according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the internal configuration of the game medium processing device;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing the state where a card-like recording medium is ejected from the card processing slot;

FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing the state where a card-like recording medium is inserted into the bill insertion slot;

FIG. 6 is a view showing the state where bill is inserted into a bill discrimination unit; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit board (controller) installed in the game medium processing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a game medium processing device according to the invention and a gaming machine in which such game medium processing device is incorporated will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, a slant top slot machine is described as an exemplary gaming machine.

As shown in FIG. 1, a slot machine 1 according to this embodiment has a cabinet 10 including a game area 5 in which three reels 3L, 3C and 3R, each having symbols drawn thereon, are rotatably arranged laterally in a line.

The cabinet 10 has a door 11 that is inclined with rear side thereof up with respect to the horizontal direction so that the reels 3L, 3C and 3R are easily visible when a player sits and that can open and close with respect to the cabinet 10 (the face side of the door 11 forms the game area where the reels can be visually recognized) . The reels 3L, 3C and 3R are arranged to be situated in a substantially central from side to side of the door 11. The cabinet 10 also has a pedestal part 13 having a more gently inclined surface than the door below the door 11. On this pedestal part 13, various operating members necessary for playing a game (various buttons such as a BET button, reel rotating button and adjustment button, an insertion slot for inserting a coin, and the like) are provided. The type, configuration and arrangement of the operating members are not particularly limited. An adjustment button to be operated when issuing a card-like recording medium related to this invention is denoted by numeral 13 a.

An arm rest 15 having a substantially horizontal surface is provided to the front of the pedestal part 13. It is so constructed that the player sitting on a chair, not shown, can easily operate the various operating members provided on the pedestal part 13 while putting his/her arms on the arm rest 15.

The cabinet 10 also has a front panel part 17 arranged upright on the rear side of the door 11. The front panel part 17 is provided with, for example, an award table 18 for displaying wining symbol combinations, dividends and the like, and speakers 20L, 20R and the like for producing effect sound to enhance the entertainment of the game.

In the cabinet 10, various devices may be further provided for enhancing the entertainment of the game. For example, a liquid crystal display device 12 (transparent liquid crystal display device) through which the reels 3L, 3C and 3R are visible may be arranged on the door 11, and various dynamic image effects may be displayed in accordance with the game, or necessary information or the like for the player to have an advantage in playing the game may be displayed. In this case, the transparent liquid crystal display device has a table carrier package (TCP) provided with a protection glass, display board, liquid. crystal panel, optical conductor board, reflection film, fluorescent lamp, and IC for driving the liquid crystal panel.

In one side of the cabinet 10, a unit 10 a including a game mediumprocessing device 30, which will be described later, is installed. The unit 10 a has a substantially half height of the cabinet 10 and is constructed substantially in the shape of a rectangular solid that is thin in the direction of width as shown in FIG. 1. The game medium processing device 30 installed therein is electrically connected with a gaming control device that controls the game based on the reels 3L, 3C and 3R incorporated in the cabinet 10. In this case, the unit 10 a may be integrated with the cabinet 10 or may be attachable to/removable from the cabinet 10 as an independent unit for the game medium processing device. The game medium processing device 30 is held in a state where it is incorporated at a predetermined position by an engagement structure provided inside the unit 10 a.

On the top and front sides of the unit 10 a, an open door 10 b and an open door 10 c are rotatably supported. By opening the respective open doors 10 b and 10 c like double doors over the front and top sides, it is possible to take out the game medium processing device 30. An aperture 10 d is formed in the top open door 10 b exposing a bill insertion slot 35 and a card processing slot 36 formed in a body part 31 of the game medium processing device 30, which will be described later. A keyhole 10 e for a lock mechanism to lock the open state of the two open doors is provided on the front open door 10 c.

Next, the configuration of the game medium processing device 30 incorporated in the slot machine will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the game medium processing device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the bill insertion slot and the card processing slot. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the internal configuration of the game medium processing device. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing the state where a card-like recording medium is ejected from the card processing slot. FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing the state where a card-like recording medium is inserted into the bill insertion slot. FIG. 6 is a view showing the state where bill is inserted into a bill discrimination unit.

The game medium processing device 30 has a bill processing unit 30A that processes bill, and a card processing unit 30B capable of processing (information reading and/or writing processing) a card-like recording medium (an IC card is used in this embodiment). The bill processing unit 30A and the card processing unit 30B are housed in the body part 31.

In the body part 31, a storage part (safe) 32 is mounted that stores bill and that can be pulled out ahead by holding a handle 33 with respect to the body part 31. Also, a medium accepting part 34 that protrudes like a beak is formed on the body part 31. In the storage part, the bill insertion slot 35 that accepts bill is formed, and the card processing slot 36 that accepts and ejects an IC card is formed substantially at the same position as the bill insertion slot 35.

Specifically, the bill insertion slot 35 is formed so that bill handled by the player is set thereon and to open in a direction orthogonal to a flat guide plate 35 a that guides the inserting direction substantially in the horizontal direction. The card processing slot 36 is formed to open the guide surface 35 a. That is, bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 35, directed to the horizontal direction. An IC card is inserted into the card processing slot 36, directed to an obliquely downward direction on the path of the bill. Regulating walls 35 b are formed on both sides of the guide surface 35 a of the bill insertion slot 35, corresponding to the width of bill to be used. The card processing slot 36 is formed to be narrower than the bill insertion slot 35 to prevent insertion of bill into the card processing slot 36.

On the top of the body part 31, a bill discrimination unit 37 is installed that determines validity of bill inserted from the bill insertion slot 35. In the bill discrimination unit 37, a transport path (transport belt) 40 and pairs of transport rollers 40 a, 40 b, 40 c and 40 d installed continuously to the transport path 40 are arranged, constituting a bill transport mechanism. Each of these pairs of transport rollers 40 a, 40 b, 40 c and 40 d is rotatably supported by an open/close member 37 a that forms the bill discrimination unit 37 and can open and close, and a flat frame 37 b on the body part side as shown in FIG. 6. The transport path 40 is wound on the transport roller pairs that are rotatably supported on the frame 37 b. In this case, the transport path 40 is formed continuously to the guide surface 35 a and bent substantially at right angles on the rear side from the transport roller pair 40 d, thus guiding bill toward the storage part 32. Also on the downward extending part of the transport path 40, pairs of transport rollers 40 e and 40 f that transport bill are arranged.

In the bill discrimination unit 37, there are installed bill discrimination sensors 42 that determines validity of inserted bill and bill insertion sensors 43 that detects insertion of bill without detecting insertion of an IC card. Considering that the width of bill to be inserted is broader than the width of an IC card, the bill insertion sensors 43 are installed, for example, at a broader spacing than the IC card width in the direction of width, and can be formed by optical sensors that detect both edges of inserted bill (light-emitting devices arranged to face each other on the open/close member 37 a and the frame 37 b).

Specifically, when bill M is inserted on the guide surface 35 a and along the regulating walls 35 b, as shown in FIG. 6, the sensors 43 at both edges of the bill simultaneously detect the bill (that is, detection signals are simultaneously generated from the sensors 43 at both edges), thereby recognizing that the bill has passed. However, when an IC card C is erroneously inserted along the guide surface 35 a, as shown in FIG. 5A, since the width of the IC card is smaller than the width of the bill M, the sensors 43 at both edges do not simultaneously generate detection signals and it is not recognized as bill.

Each of the transport roller pairs 40 a to 40 f is rotationally driven so that they can rotate forward and backward through a transport motor 45 and a known driving force transmission mechanism having a gear train 46 connected to the transport motor. Also, a control circuit board (controller) 47 is installed in the body part 31. It detects the signals related to the validity of bill from the sensors 42 that detect the bill, and the signals from the bill insertion sensors 43, and performs driving control such as driving start, stop, reversal and the like of the transport motor 45.

Specifically, when the bill insertion sensors 43 at both edges simultaneously generate detection signals and the bill is determined to be valid by the sensors 42 for discriminating bill, the transport motor 45 (transport roller pairs 40 a, 40 b, 40 c and 40 d) is driven to send the inserted bill into the housing part. Meanwhile, when the IC card C is erroneously inserted into the bill insertion slot, the bill insertion sensors 43 do not simultaneously generate detection signals. Therefore, the transport motor 45 is not driven and the entry of the IC card is prevented. When the sensors 42 for discriminating bill cannot determine the validity of bill, the transport motor 45 is driven in the reverse direction and is controlled to eject the inserted bill from the bill insertion slot 35.

The card processing unit 30B has a card transport mechanism that includes a card transport path 36 a continuing to the card processing slot 36, and pinch rollers 51 a and transport rollers 51 b and 51 c continuously arranged along the card transport path, below the bill transport path 40. In this case, the card processing slot 36 and the card transport path 36 a are formed to guide an IC card obliquely downward with respect to the bill transport path 40.

The card processing unit 30B also has a card reader/writer (recording medium processing unit) 55 that is installed on the card transport path 36 a and that can read information from and write information to the IC card guided to the transport path. In this case, the card reader/writer 55 has the function of reading information (game medium information or the like) recorded on the inserted IC card and newly writing such information, or the like function. The game medium information includes information related to game value including value corresponding to the inserted bill.

The pinch rollers 51 a and the transport roller pairs 51 b and 51 c are driven so that they can rotate forward and backward by a transport motor 56 and a known driving force transmission mechanism (not shown) having a gear train connected to the transport motor 56. In this case, the transport motor 56 is controlled by detecting detection signals from a sensor (not shown) that detects the insertion of an IC card, and a write end signal in the control circuit board 47.

The card processing unit 30B also has a card storage part 60. In this card storage part 60, many card-like recording media are stored in advance, and payout information is recorded onto the card-like recording media by the card reader/writer 55 and the IC card are issued to the player. Therefore, in the card storage part 60, a vertical driving motor 57 that is controlled by the control circuit board 47 is installed. Every time an IC card is ejected, the vertical driving motor 57 is driven to constantly abut the uppermost IC card to the transport roller pairs 51 b and 51 c, thereby enabling issue of IC card on which payout information is recorded.

Although the card storage part 60 may have the above-described issue function, the card storage part 60 may simply have the function of a collector box that collects used card-like recording media.

In the top part of the storage part 32 that houses the bill, a bill acceptance hole 32 a is formed at the position corresponding to the transport path 40 arranged in the body part when the storage part 32 is installed in the body part 31. The bill determined as being valid by the bill discrimination unit 37 is sequentially stacked and housed in the storage part 32 through the bill acceptance hole 32 a. On the bottom of the storage part 32, an open/close lid 32 b for taking out the bill stored therein is provided. This open/close lid 32 b is opened about a hinge part 32 c.

In the storage part 32, a stock mechanism for stacking and housing the sequentially fed bill is provided. In the body part 31, a bill pressure-driving mechanism for driving this stock mechanism is provided.

The stock mechanism has a supporting board 70 that supports bill, compression springs 71 that urges the supporting board into the direction of arrow A, a push-in board 72 that pushes in the bill transported from the bill acceptance hole 32 a toward the supporting board 70, and a pair of arm members 73 a and 73 b with each having two ends thereof pivotally supported so that the arm members 73 a and 73 b can move the push-in board 72 in the direction of arrow B and the direction of arrow C. Each of the arm members 73 a and 73 b is connected with the push-in board 72 and is also connected with a receiving board 75 abutted against a reciprocating bar in the bill pressure-driving mechanism, which will be described later. The arm members 73 a and 73 b have the function of a parallel crank mechanism.

The bill pressure-driving mechanism has a driving motor 80, and a reciprocating bar 81 driven to reciprocate in the directions of arrows A and B. Between the driving motor 80 and the reciprocating bar 81, a power transmission mechanism 85 formed by a gear train, and a cam mechanism 86 that is connected with the reciprocating bar 81 and converts the rotation of the gear to reciprocating motion, are provided.

The driving motor 80 is controlled by the control circuit board 47 and is driven every time bill is transported in from the transport path 40 through the bill acceptance hole 32 a. That is, when bill is transported into a space S between the supporting board 70 and the push-on board 72, the driving motor 80 is driven, and the reciprocating bar 81 is driven in the direction of arrow B through the power transmission mechanism 85 and the cam mechanism 86. A roller 81 a is supported at a distal end part of this reciprocating bar 81 and is abutted against the receiving board 75 through a hole formed in the storage part 32, thus sliding the receiving board 75 in the direction of arrow B. Accordingly, the push-in board 72 is driven in the direction of arrow B through the arm members 73 a and 73 b, integrally with the receiving board 75, and is also driven in the direction of arrow C to abut the bill to the supporting board 70 against the urging force of the compression springs 71. In this case, even if the bill is curved, the push-in board 72 is driven in the direction of arrow C and therefore the bill is corrected and then abutted to the supporting board 70. The urging force of the compression springs 71 acting on the supporting board 70 acts on the bill. However, as the uppermost bill is abutted to the pair of regulating walls 32 formed in rib shape on the two sidewall parts of the storage part 32, the stacking and housing state is maintained.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control circuit board (controller) 47.

The control circuit board 47 has: a CPU 100 including the function of control operation for the various driving devices such as the transport motors 45 and 56, the vertical driving motor 57, the driving motor 80 and the reader/writer 55; a program ROM 101 storing operating programs for the various driving devices; and a control RAM 102.

A transport motor driving circuit 110, a vertical driving motor driving circuit 111, a reader/writer driving circuit 112 and a driving motor driving circuit 113 for driving the various driving devices are connected to the CPU 100 through an I/O port 105. Each driving device has the operation controlled by a control signal from the CPU 100 in accordance with the operating program. Also, detection signals from the bill insertion sensors 43, discrimination signals related to the validity of bill from the bill discrimination sensors 42, and an information signal related to a game medium from a control circuit 300 arranged in the body of a gaming machine executing game processing (generated when the adjustment button 13 a is pressed), are inputted to the CPU 100 thorough the I/O port 105. Receiving these signals, the CPU 100 controls the driving of each of the driving devices as follows.

(1) When the player pressed the adjustment button 13 a shown in FIG. 1, the card processing unit 30B drives the reader/writer 55 to perform write processing to an IC card with respect to information related to the value of a game medium sent from the gaming machine, and also drives the transport motor 56 to perform issue processing. In this case, even if the bill insertion sensors 43 detect insertion of bill before the card issue processing ends, the CPU 100 performs control not to drive the transport motor 45 in order to stop the processing (this “stop” means not executing the bill acceptance processing). That is, while the adjustment button 13 a is pressed and the issue processing is being executed, even if the player inserts bill into the bill insertion slot 35, this operation is invalidated and bill will not be accepted.

(2) On the other hand, when the player inserts bill into the bill insertion slot 35, the bill processing unit 30A determines the validity of the bill. If the inserted bill is valid, the transport motor 45 and the driving motor 80 are driven to transport the bill toward the storage part 32, and information related to the value of the game medium is sent to the gaming machine control circuit 300 (if the validity cannot be confirmed, the transport motor 45 is driven in the reverse direction to eject the inserted bill). In this case, even if the adjustment button 13 a is pressed before the bill housing processing ends, the CPU 100 performs control not to drive the reader/writer 55, the vertical driving motor 57 and the transport motor 56 in order to stop the processing (this “stop” means not executing the issue processing). That is, while the bill is inserted in the bill insertion slot and the processing is being executed, even if the player presses the adjustment button 13 a, this operation is invalidated and no IC card is issued.

In accordance with the configuration of the gaming machine and the configuration of the game medium processing device, either the control processing (1) or (2) may be performed.

The game medium processing device 30 has the following advantages.

When the player intends to execute processing of two kinds of medium (bill and IC card), while one game medium is being processed, the processing of the other game medium is stopped (that is, the processing not executed). Therefore, execution of processing that is different from the player's intention can be prevented. That is, processing against the player's intention can be performed if the two game media are univocally processed in parallel, but by performing control not to execute the processing of the other game medium during the processing of one game medium as described above, such inconvenience does not occur and convenience for the player is not reduced. Also, since the processing operations of the game media are not executed in parallel, the operations and controls of the game media neither interfere with each other nor become complicated.

In the above-described game medium processing device, since the bill processing unit 30A and the card processing unit 30B are incorporated in the body part 31 of the game medium processing device 30, these units need not be installed in the slot machine as separate units. As a result, it is possible to effectively utilize the space without increasing the size of the cabinet of the slot machine. Particularly, since the bill insertion slot and the card processing slot are integrally formed and the processing units for the two are arranged at the positions close to each other, the device can be effectively miniaturized and convenience for the player handling each kinds of game medium can be improved.

With the above-described game medium processing device, when a player presses, for example, an adjustment button to make adjustment of a game on the side of a gaming machine to which the game medium processing device is attached, writing processing of game medium information to an IC card is performed in the card processing unit and the IC card is issued to the player through the card processing slot. While this issue processing is being performed, the bill processing unit does not process (accept) bill.

With the above-described game medium processing device, even if, for example, the player erroneously presses the adjustment button when inserting bill into the bill insertion slot, the card processing unit does not perform the processing of an IC card (issue processing or the like).

With the above-described game medium processing device, while the card processing unit is processing an IC card, even if the player tries to insert bill into the bill insertion slot, the transport roller is not driven and the bill cannot be inserted.

In the slot machine 1 according to the embodiment, as the game medium processing device 30 is arranged within the unit 10 a that is attachable to and removable from the cabinet 10, the cabinet 10 can be constructed substantially in a horizontal symmetrical shape about the game area 5. Thus, the design of appearance is improved and such a unit can be mounted in the cabinets of various gaming machines, when necessary. Of course, the game medium processing device 30 may also be constructed as being incorporated within the slot machine.

The embodiment of this invention is described above. However, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be constructed, for example, as follows.

The constituent members of the bill processing unit 30A and the card processing unit 30B incorporated in the game medium processing device 30, and their arrangement positions, can be modified appropriately. For example, a single insertion slot is shared as the bill insertion slot and the card processing slot. In such a configuration, the card reader/writer may be arranged on the transport path for bill and an IC card, or a switching valve or the like may be installed on the transport path for bill and IC card, thus switching the transport path in accordance with the inserted medium. In such a configuration, while one game medium is being processed, the other game medium will not be processed and therefore the two processing media will not collide with each other on the transport path.

Also, as a technique to stop the processing of the other game medium while one game medium is being processed, for example, a shutter member or the like may be arranged and controlled to stop the processing. For example, a configuration in which the bill insertion slot is closed by the shutter member or the like to prevent insertion of bill while an IC card is being processing, may be employed. Also, the timing of canceling the stop processing of the other game medium can be modified appropriately, for example, by setting the timing by a timer or the like.

In the embodiment, the part in which bill is housed (storage part 32) is constructed to be attachable to and removable from the body part of the game medium processing device. However, it may be integrated with the body part. The method of stacking and processing bill transported into the housing part is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 and can be modified in various manners.

Moreover, the IC card used in the card processing unit is not limited to the IC card as described in the embodiment, and an optical card, magnetic card, magneto-optical card or the like may be used.

The embodiment of the invention can also be applied to various gaming machines other than slot machines. The above-described game medium processing device can also be installed in various external devices such as vending machines, other than gaming machines.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-115824 filed on Apr. 9, 2004 including specification, claims, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 

1. A game medium processing device comprising: a bill processing unit that performs bill processing, the bill processing unit including, a bill insertion slot through which a bill is inserted, and a bill discrimination unit that determines validity of the inserted bill; a card processing unit that performs a card processing, the card processing unit including, a card ejection slot through which a card-like recording medium is ejected, and a recording medium processing unit that writes and/or reads information related to game value to and/or from the card-like recording medium; and a controller that controls the bill processing unit to stop performing the bill processing while the card processing is performed.
 2. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the card processing unit to stop performing the card processing while the bill processing is performed.
 3. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the bill processing unit includes: a bill insertion sensor that detects insertion of bill into the bill insertion slot; and a transport roller that transports the bill inserted into the bill insertion slot, when the insertion sensor detects the insertion of the bill, and wherein the controller controls the transport roller to prevent transporting the bill while the card processing is performed by the card processing unit.
 4. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the game value including a value corresponding to the inserted bill.
 5. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the card processing includes driving the recording medium processing unit to write and/or read the information related to the game value to and/or from the card-like recording medium.
 6. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the card processing includes issuing the card-like recording medium.
 7. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the bill processing includes driving the bill discriminating unit to determine the validity of the bill inserted into the bill insertion slot.
 8. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the bill processing includes transporting the inserted bill.
 9. The game medium processing device according to claim 1, wherein the bill processing includes sending the information related to the inserted bill.
 10. A gaming machine comprising: a cabinet including: a bill processing unit that performs bill processing, the bill processing unit including, a bill insertion slot through which a bill is inserted, and a bill discrimination unit that determines validity of the inserted bill; a card processing unit that performs a card processing, the card processing unit including, a card ejection slot through which a card-like recording medium is ejected, and a recording medium processing unit that writes and/or reads information related to game value to and/or from a card-like recording medium; and a controller that control the bill processing unit to stop performing the bill processing while the card processing is performed, and controls the card processing unit to stop performing the card processing while the bill processing is performed. 